Disney+ will crack down on password sharing this year, boss says

By Martyn Landi, PA Technology Correspondent

Disney+ is to begin cracking down on password sharing later this year in an effort to boost sign-ups and revenue for the service.

Disney chief executive Bob Iger said in an interview with American network CNBC that the streaming platform would start taking action against the behaviour from June in some countries, and then a “full rollout” in September.

Many major streaming services are impacted by password sharing – where users share their log-in details with family and friends not in the same household, enabling them to access content without paying for it – despite it being against platform rules.

Speaking about launching the crackdown as a way of boosting revenue for the platform, Mr Iger said Disney+ would be “launching our first real foray into password sharing” in June, adding the move would help “turn this business into a business that we feel really good about”.

Disney’s decision comes after fellow streaming giant Netflix attributed a recent jump in subscribers to its own recent crackdown on password sharing.

Shortly after it stepped up its action against the issue, the company reported a major spike in new users signing up for the service and has seen revenues rise since.

“Netflix is the gold standard in streaming,” Mr Iger said.

“They’ve done a phenomenal job and a lot of different directions. I actually have very, very high regard for what they’ve accomplished. If we can only accomplish what they’ve accomplished, that would be great.”